Sedans are described as having "three-box" bodies: the front box is home to the engine; the middle box is larger and houses the passengers; and the third box, located in the rear, is the trunk. These are the classic proportions of a sedan and have been for more than 70 years.
Deciding what is and what is not a hatchback, however, isn't as easy. Not long ago, hatchbacks were small, cheap, boxy, economy cars— Car and Driver coined the derisive term "econobox" to describe them. They were called "two-box" cars, with the engine up front in the first box and a second box for the passengers and cargo area—but no trunk.
Hatchbacks had either two or four doors and a one-piece flip-up tailgate, called a hatch, on their squared-off tails. Today, most small hatchbacks are hardly what we would call econoboxes; they're much sleeker, with stylish rooflines that sweep gently down to their rear bumpers. They're well-built, often nicely appointed inside, and in some cases, anything but cheap.
Volkswagen has stood by its squared-off, traditional two-box design for the Golf, though the model has been given much more modern styling. If you want a Golf with a trunk, VW offers the Jetta. But hatchbacks have also grown up—way up, into an entirely new breed. Today, there are numerous vehicles that might pass for four-door sedans but in fact have a rear hatch incorporated into their low, sleek roofline that flips up to reveal a large cargo hold.
These cars tend to be compact or mid-size sporty or luxury-oriented cars. Their lines are sexy, and their roofs slope into what could be taken for a small trunk. Confusing things further, manufacturers refer to some of these cars as four-door coupes, because their low, fastback rooflines recall the look of two-door sports coupes or sports cars of the past. It may be marketing mumbo jumbo, but one thing's for certain: these racy cars are indeed hatchbacks. Beyond differences in how hatchbacks and sedans look, the biggest difference in what they provide an owner is found in their relative cargo-hauling capabilities.
For a given-size car, a hatchback body style can carry larger pieces of cargo and can be loaded and unloaded more easily than a sedan. A hatchback's large, flip-up rear hatch door opens to a tall, unimpeded space because there's no package tray in the way.
Most hatchbacks have either a solid, swing-up package tray or a soft pull-out cargo-area cover to hide valuables from view—both of which are easily removed. The large hatch door enables tall, bulky objects that you could never fit into a sedan's trunk to be slid into the rear of the car once the rear seat is folded virtually all hatchbacks have fold-down rear seats.
Flip the rear seat down, and a hatchback morphs into a mini-SUV. This is why having a rear wiper can be troublesome. Whilst, this is not the case with a hatchback. Most design departments does not like the look of a sedan car with a rear window wiper. Hence, most automakers do not use rear wiper while manufacturing a sedan car. While to your surprise, a few automakers manufacture sedans with rear window wipers. But the number is quite low. Although, it is quite difficult to state the exact reason why sedan cars lack rear wipers, yet the above mentioned reasons are the most common.
Having the industry knowledge and experience in the market, most automakers do not put a rear window wiper in sedan cars. But there is no thumb rule behind this, and thus, you may find a few manufacturers making sedan cars having rear wipers.
Driving Tips. Maintenance Tips. Car Review. The Honda Fit is the most traditional of hatchbacks, and that much is obvious from the first glance. The Honda Fit is a budget-friendly little hatch that will attract young drivers and college students more than anyone else. The Honda Civic Hatchback looks more like a sedan, but the back is built with a full opening hatch.
The Honda Civic Type R is the performance hatchback so many owners know and love. The Honda Civic Hatchback, with its sedan-like profile might make you question what the definition of a hatchback is anyway. The simplest answer is that a hatchback vehicle is a car with a rear door that swings up.
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